Productivity and Self-Obsession

Productivity and Self-Obsession

It is in the morning that we are most vulnerable. Barely awake, the thoughts start coming. Sometimes positive, but often not so much. The reason for that negative start-of-the-day slant I’ll leave to others more qualified, but after 30 years of coaching and mentoring...
The Hole in the Ground

The Hole in the Ground

In traditional English seaside towns, some things never change – the fish’n’chip shops, the amusement arcades, the ice cream parlours and the seafood stands, to name but a few. I know this because I grew up in one on the north Norfolk coast in the 1970s and in...
What Happens in a GTD Level 2 Seminar?

What Happens in a GTD Level 2 Seminar?

Todd Brown talks about what happens in a GTD® Level 2 Seminar – Projects & Priorities. Covering the key aspects of the Natural Planning Model® and the Horizons of Focus®, the seminar helps take your GTD learning and practice up a notch.
Am I Going in the Right Direction with GTD?

Am I Going in the Right Direction with GTD?

You won’t get the great benefit of seeing your world from a higher perspective in your Weekly Review® without first having a complete Projects list. And… You won’t fully understand why you should keep a complete Projects list until you’re getting the benefit of seeing...
Words For Each Day

Words For Each Day

Each Day In Life is Training Training For Myself Though Failure is Possible Living Each Moment Equal to Anything Ready for Everything (Soen Ozeki, Daisen-in Zen Temple, Kyoto) I’m sitting in an Amsterdam coffee shop reflecting on the mind-altering trip that I’ve been...
Snapshot From My Life

Snapshot From My Life

Daniel Glaser is crossing America on a Winston Churchill Fellowship (www.wcmt.org.uk) exploring what the fears and promise of AI reveal about human nature. Snapshot from my life: it is mid-afternoon, and I’m trying to decide on whether to offer myself the treat...
How One Man Used GTD to Recover from Mental Illness

How One Man Used GTD to Recover from Mental Illness

Andy Hall knows first-hand how it feels to sink into severe depression, anxiety and breakdown, but he’s also learned how to fight back. Here, in light of the recent Mental Health Awareness month, he shares his experience of how GTD® has helped turn his life around....
Save the Planet. Next Action:…?

Save the Planet. Next Action:…?

I wasn’t planning to set any goals for this year. Many areas of my life are in reasonable shape as we start the year, so I thought I’d cut myself some slack and had resolved not to be quite so resolute with my targets. It turns out it isn’t that simple. After four-ish...
From Someday/Maybe to the Top of Europe

From Someday/Maybe to the Top of Europe

What does it feel like to do one of those things in life that feels like a dream come true? All too often we get caught up in the constant busy-ness of our lives – a living embodiment of the daily grind – that we forget about the big stuff. The things that...
The Long Goodbye

The Long Goodbye

In a couple of days I’ll wave goodbye to my daughter. As my eldest child, she’s the first to head off to university and after that we’ll be separated by a long day of driving to East Anglia, much of it staring at the featureless flatlands of Lincolnshire or stuck...
The Temple in the Sea

The Temple in the Sea

Start with WHY. If you’ve kept current with leadership content on the web in the last decade then you might know that this is Simon Sinek’s thing, making him famous after a 2009 TED talk that went viral The talk itself looks slightly retro if you watch it again now –...
Mind How You Go

Mind How You Go

“All that is very well,” answered Candide, “but let us cultivate our garden.” -Voltaire I was fuming. I could feel the blood surging up to my head, fuelling a litany of judgmental thoughts. Brexit. Trump. That maniac on the M1. Something had...
Il Camino

Il Camino

For the fourth year in a row I’m out walking Il Camino, the pilgrimage in Spain. It is an amazing experience, but the connection to GTD® might not be obvious. Still, apart from the obvious checklist for all the things I want to bring – ranging from walking boots to...
Guest Interview with Alex Lee, University Manager

Guest Interview with Alex Lee, University Manager

Alex Lee manages the strategic communications, planning and policy development for Library & Student Support Services at Sheffield Hallam University, leading a team of seven. Her role as Head of Management Services covers a broad range of service delivery for a...
A Guide to Ineffective Leadership

A Guide to Ineffective Leadership

Regular readers will know that in my blogs I usually focus on ways to be more effective and efficient, to realise the benefits of stress-free productivity. It occurred to me earlier this week though that I’ve been neglecting an audience that could use some help. What...
“Cheer up, it might never happen”

“Cheer up, it might never happen”

As cold, wet weather and grey skies descend on the British Isles, out come the scowls. A particularly cheeky response to encountering a dour-faced stranger is the peculiarly British quip, “Cheer up, it might never happen.” Obviously, there are situations...
Working Standards: Where the He?? Am I?

Working Standards: Where the He?? Am I?

In my last blog, I opened a conversation about the possibility – and the value – of raising acceptable working standards in an organisation. If you liked the sound of that – or simply can no longer bear the waste you currently see in your place of work – this blog...
Four Things to Do to Make the Most of Your Year-End

Four Things to Do to Make the Most of Your Year-End

Well, the end of the year is around the corner. Snuck up on you, did it? You’re not alone. The good news is that for many of us, as things slow down toward year-end, we can find the space between the holiday parties to refine our GTD® systems and practices. Here are...
Things Change

Things Change

Since it’s been a year in which our public discourse has been dominated by preparations for Brexit, I’m expecting that ‘TRANSITION’ is going to be one of the words of the year next month when such things are announced. The psychologist Daniel Levinson reflected on...
FOMO, YOLO, and GTD

FOMO, YOLO, and GTD

Being often in a hurry, millennials love to abbreviate. One of my favourites is “tl;dr” (too long; didn’t read). In case you’re a millennial reading this now, here’s the “tl;dr” version of this article: if you’re afraid...
Aristotle helps you with your iPhone

Aristotle helps you with your iPhone

In the week that the latest iPhones were launched, I’d like to encourage you to take a mental journey back to classical Greece, for some helpful advice about modern life. Those of you who have been reading my blogs for a while will know that I’m a history buff, and in...